Scripture is Sufficient

Modern tongues are not the gift as clearly described in the Bible. The confusion surrounding the gift of tongues today stems from a failure to define it biblically. Once we do, the clear difference between biblical tongues and the modern counterfeit becomes unmistakable. The Apostles, those with them in the upper room, and those the Spirit sovereignly gave the gift to in the early church age spoke known languages. 

Today’s tongues are linguistically not languages at all. The Apostles never taught people to seek the gift or “fake it until it happens” as some teach. Today, people are coached into speaking modern-day tongues. The Apostle Paul clearly said that not all believers speak in tongues. Sadly, many Christians today are told that everyone can and should speak in tongues. The Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, insists on interpretation and order. Tongues speaking today are regularly chaotic (the whole church babbling at one time), unregulated, and not tested for accuracy because they are rarely interpreted. "Let all things be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). God is not the author of confusion. His Word is sufficient.

The Spirit does not contradict the Scriptures he inspired. When we understand tongues biblically, we are freed from false expectations, which lead to confusion and discouragement. Instead, let’s focus on the greater miracle, his all-sufficient Word given to us.

Adapted from A More Excellent Way: A Biblical Guide to 1 Corinthians 12–14: Spiritual Gifts, Tongues, and Worship by Steven Biggs

Tom Pennington: Sola Scriptura

This message took place during the Sola Conference at Countryside Bible Church in Southlake, Tx:   

Austin Duncan Preaching on the Sufficiency of Scripture

Sola Scriptura

Scripture alone (sola scriptura) means that the Bible is highest and final authority for all believers for faith and practice. It does not mean the Bible is our only authority nor does it mean the Bible tells us everything. 

The Bible is not a science book, nor does it tell us how to build a computer. We have been granted "everything pertaining to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3), which comes from the Bible. The Apostle Paul wrote:

All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The Bible is God's Word and is sufficient for all who believe in Jesus. We go to the Bible as our final authority. Our pastors, the commentaries we read, the podcasts we listen to, and that televangelist we see on TV are not the final authority. It is scripture. 

In Acts 17, we see the Apostle Paul bringing the word to the Bereans where "they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). The Bereans examined the scriptures to fact-check Paul's teaching which is something every believe needs to do. Imagine how many Christians would not be deceived if they open their Bibles and see what false teaching is being presented before them because scripture is our final authority. 

Dreams and visions should be checked as well because they can lead us astray. Someone who claims to have a "word from the Lord" should be checked as well. Thankfully, "we have as more sure the prophetic word, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19). 

God's Word is our final authority. God's word is enough. 

Sproul on the Spirit's Work in Illumination

Illumination is not to be confused with revelation. It is commonplace today to hear people speak about private revelations they claim to have received from the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit in illumination is not the supplying of new information or fresh revelations beyond those found in sacred Scripture.

Reformed Christianity emphatically denies that God is giving new normative revelation today. The Spirit is still working to illumine what is revealed in Scripture. The Spirit helps us to understand the Bible, to convict us of the truth of the Bible, and to apply that truth to our lives. He works with the Word and through the Word. His task is never to teach against the Word. It is therefore always necessary to test what we hear by the teaching of Scripture. The Scripture is the Spirit's book.

R.C. Sproul, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith: 100 Key Doctrines in Plain Language

We Believe the Resurrection because of the Bible

Andy Stanley continues to teach in his church that we believe in the Resurrection not because of what the Bible says. It is because of the ancient documents written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Stanley would go on to say that history tells us there was a Resurrection. Yes, that can be true but history will never proclaim why we must believe in the Resurrection nor why it matters that Jesus was raised from the dead. 

Why do we believe the Resurrection? It is not because of wishful thinking or what history tells us. It is not because of some legend or folklore that has been passed down from generation after generation. John Owen wrote:

Christ's death, and burial, and resurrection, are the things proposed unto us to be believed, and so the object of our faith. But the reason why we believe them is, because they are declared in the Scriptures. 

The Bible says:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

The Scriptures declare that Jesus died, was buried, and was raised to life. The Scriptures are sufficient for knowing why Jesus rose from the dead. 

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Carl Truman on the Sufficiency of Scripture

The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture lies at the heart of what it means to be a Protestant. Protestantism and Roman Catholicism share much in common in terms of basic theology, such as a commitment to the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation. When it comes to matters of authority, however, there are major divergences. One of these is on the matter of Scripture: is Scripture sufficient as an authority for the church or not?

Scriptural sufficiency is, of course, a doctrine that stands in positive connection to a number of other theological convictions, such as inerrancy, the extent of the canon, and the perspicuity or clarity of Scripture. All of these help to shape our understanding of sufficiency but are beyond the scope of this brief article. Thus, I will focus on the doctrine as generally understood by those who accept the Protestant confessional consensus on these matters, as reflected in the Second London Confession, the Three Forms of Unity, and the Westminster Standards.

Read the entire post here.

Sola Scriptura in the Second London Baptist Confession

No statement from the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession has anymore relevance in today’s Christian world than the following paragraph which articulates the Protestant doctrine of sola Scriptura: “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own Glory, Mans Salvation, Faith and Life, is either expressely set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture; unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new Revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men” (Chapter 1, Paragraph 6). This is a clear articulation of one of the great Reformation era solas. In sum: the Scripture alone provides all that is necessary for life and godliness. This great doctrine, sola Scriptura, is considered the formal cause of the Protestant Reformation, while its companion doctrine, sola fide, became the material cause. The affirmation of sola Scriptura cuts across the grain of ancient (and modern) Roman Catholicism and, in more recent days, across the grain of modern Pentecostalism. Both Roman Catholicism and Pentecostalism (broadly defined), while at opposite ends of the theological spectrum, agree in this principle denial—the Scripture alone is insufficient for Christians as a guide to life and godliness. The difference between how Roman Catholics and contemporary Pentecostals handle sola Scriptura is simple: Roman Catholics deny this affirmation in principle while Pentecostalism, which affirms sola Scriptura in principle, denies it in practice.

Read the entire post here

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We Hear The Lord In All of Scripture

Faith comes by hearing, not in some general sense, but by hearing Jesus Christ speak. Jesus himself is the Son who was sent by the Father, and he “speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit” (John 3:34, NIV). He testifies to what he has seen and heard in heaven (John 3:31-32). The words that he speaks are Spirit and life (John 6:63, 68). Paul does not suppose that every believer has heard Jesus speak in the same way that he did on the Damascus road. Paul’s hearing was part of his seeing the risen Lord. The Lord sent him as a chosen vessel to bear his name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. Paul as an apostle could speak of his gospel as that climactic revelation of the mysteries of God that enabled him to declare the word of Christ to the Gentiles as well as to the people of Israel (Eph. 3:2-12).

As God’s ambassador, Paul spoke for God, for God was speaking through him (2 Cor. 5:20). The gospel that Paul preached was not of men, received from or taught by men, but received by revelation from Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:11-12). We hear our Lord, not just in the red letters of a Bible, but in the whole revelation of the Lord, the Word.

Adapted from Preaching Christ in All of Scripture by Edmund Clowney

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